


Intervention

by toypoodle



Category: Kiesha'ra Series - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28641588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toypoodle/pseuds/toypoodle
Summary: Rei gets tired of being the middle man between Zane and Danica so he locks them in a room together, only letting them out when they've resolved their communication issues.
Relationships: Zane Cobriana/Danica Shardae
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Intervention

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters belong to Amelia Atwater Rhodes

Zane Cobriana was confused immediately upon entering the room and twisted around only to see that Andreios had left, closing the door behind him with an audible click of the lock. The past few months had led to an understanding between the two men, one where Rei barely visibly tolerated his presence and Zane barely trusted Rei to keep him alive. Heart pounding, he surveyed the room, noting the lone couch with blankets and pillows comfortably stacked in the corner. The coffee table held baskets full of breads, honey, cured meats, and cheese while three serpentine wine bottles and a decanter of avian whiskey glared back at him.

It was official, Zane was bewildered. He heard the door open again and turned in time to see Danica enter the room. Several weeks of watching his wife from a distance had taught Zane to see beyond the avian reserve, and it became obvious that Danica was just as befuddled as he was. Two pairs of eyes, both golden and garnet, turned to the Captain of the Royal Flight.

Andreios clasped his hands in front of him. "My queen and king, consider this an intervention." At the last word, Rei looked pointedly at his Thuli Thea.

Zane felt Danica stiffen beside him and a quick glance sideways showed that she was shaking her head, mouth agape as she looked at Rei in mute horror.

"I have taken the liberty of clearing both your schedules for the day. As you can see, there is plenty of food and drink should you get hungry or require refreshment, the bathroom is through that door there, and I will be standing guard outside to ensure that you are not disturbed for any reason. Have a nice day."

With that Rei bowed low, walked out of the room, and locked the door behind him.

Zane turned to his mate suspiciously, "What is going on? What is this 'intervention' that he's talking about?"

Danica sighed and looked everywhere except him. "A couple of years ago, when Rei was having problems with his pair bond, I corralled them into a room and forbade them from coming out until they resolved their issues. It seems that...he saw fit to return the favor?"

Ah. This was something Zane would expect from his mother or Irene, not the prim and polished Captain of the Royal Flight.

"So, how airtight is this intervention? We both outrank him, what's to stop us from walking out of here?" This was the first time in two weeks where Zane was this close to Danica without it being a show put on for the sake of his people. He felt duty-bound to offer her a way out. It didn't stop him from telepathically sending a silent thank you to the crow standing outside, for allowing him precious moments alone with his Naga.

Danica looked at him apologetically, "Rei is a planner and he is very thorough. There's no way out of this. We're stuck here for at least two to three hours, if not more, before he'd believably let us out of the room."

That explained the food and copious amounts of alcohol.

"Oh." For the first time in his life, Zane felt shy and was left scrambling for words. Danica moved towards the couch, perching delicately on one side. He joined her on the other, moving the stack of pillows and blankets to the floor. This was going to be a long afternoon.

The first thirty minutes trickled past slowly, with the Diente and his Naga not knowing where to look.

Zane busied himself by staring at the coffee table. The food looked inviting and smelled delicious but he was still full from his foray into the market. He knew Danica just finished having lunch with his mother and Irene so there was no point in unpacking the basket just yet.

His eyes kept wandering to the decanter of avian whiskey. Serpents preferred the sweet playful side of liquor so fruity red wines and playful bubbly concoctions were what he grew up with. Avian alcohol was rumored to be strong and harsh, meant for sipping over long periods of time.

He also remembered confessing to Rei a couple of days ago that he's never tried it.

"What are our problems?"

Danica jumped slightly. "What was that?"

"What are our problems?" Zane repeated, heart pounding. _I think I might be in love with you. It hurts every time you pull away from me. I wish you were with me right now because you wanted to be, not because you were strong-armed into it by Rei. I want to tell you how I feel about you but I am scared that you don't feel the same way._ "You mentioned that you staged your intervention so that Rei and his mate could resolve theirs. Since he's locked us in, we clearly have things that we need to work through. What are our problems?"

Danica raised an eyebrow. "You mean other than the fact that we married for politics under the mutual understanding that we'd be sacrificing so our people wouldn't have to?"

Her husband chuckled, "Well, when you put it like that…."

Danica let a small smile escape past her reserve and nodded towards the wine. "Since my dear old friend was kind enough to clear our schedule so we're free of royal obligations, why don't we be selfish for a day and open up a bottle. Or all three."

Zane promptly reached for the wine glasses and grinned back in reply.

"I'm sorry." The words are quiet and feel completely out of place amongst the formal chatter they've occupied themselves with for the past hour. Zane looks over to see Danica pensively staring at the bottom of her wine glass.

"Sorry for what?" They were finishing up the second bottle of wine and it was safe to say that neither of them were as sober as they were when they first walked into the room.

She shrugs. "All of this. Growing up I always knew that I was going to have an alistair, that the duty to my people and the throne would always come first. Love was akin to a fairy tale and deemed an unnecessary ingredient for matches because, in the end, commitment and mutual respect were all that mattered. But that wasn't your expectation of marriage. You had dreams of love, joy, and intimacy of all kinds. I'm sorry that your reality ended up being different. I'm sorry that you got stuck with me."

Zane's mouth went dry. This wasn't what he was expecting. "You have nothing to apologize for. We're cleaning up the messes of two thousand years of war. This was never going to be easy, no matter what form peace took. Given the history of our people, it's completely understandable for us to have a rough start. I regret nothing."

 _I still dream of love and intimacy, Danica. And believe it or not, I've dreamed of you since the moment I saw you four years ago._ "I also owe you an apology though. We're working through centuries of blind hatred and prejudice, and I've made no effort on my part to work through this with you. I admire you going out and meeting my people, learning about my culture, and it's amazing to hear back from the communities on how much my people love you. It shows that we were right to hope and that we made the right decision of going down this path. I don't know if we'll ever reach a point where we're completely comfortable with each other or if we'll get to a place of pure love, but I hope you know that you can trust me." 

_And I hope you know that I trust you._

Danica sighs and empties her wineglass. "I've been distant too. It's an odd arrangement for sure. You had spies and people from the keep who were loyal to you for so long. You know more about me than I know of you and sometimes, bridging that gap is intimidating." She smiles wryly. "As an avian lady, and as a hawk, I never learned how to pursue a man. I'm frankly at a loss on what to do. I want to get to know you better, but I am terrified that my presence might be an imposition. You're used to receiving a certain level of comfort and I don't know how to provide that."

Zane was silent for a long time, rolling the stem of his wine glass with his fingers while mulling over her words. He swore, "We got off on the wrong foot, didn't we? We were so focused on hammering out the professional nuances of this union that we never paused to consider the personal ones."

"So how do we fix that?" For the first time since he made her his Naga, Zane can _see_ his mate. The reserve has been tucked away and she's allowed herself to be comfortable with him. His stomach flutters and he's silent for a long time, savoring the beauty and radiance of his wife. He stands up abruptly, pacing to the other side of the room, staring at a random painting on the wall as Danica's confused eyes bore into his back. He doesn't know what he's looking for as he contemplates the picture frame, but, after five agonizingly long minutes, he finds it.

He turns to face his mate, squares his shoulders, and walks over until he's standing in front of her. Red eyes study gold as he extends his hand to her.

"Hello, my name is Zane Cobriana. I don't believe we've met. I saw you sitting over here all by yourself and was hoping I could join you for a drink?"

She blinks twice before placing her hand in his. "Danica Shardae. Here, the seat next to me is available." She stands up to make room for him.

He brings her hand up to kiss it, and a slow, shy smile spreads across his face.


	2. Barkeep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asterisks* represent direct quotes from the book itself.

Zane sits down next to her, his eyes never leaving her face, “So. Do you come here often?” 

Danica’s lips quirked slightly, “I’m relatively new to this area, actually. It technically belongs to my husband.” 

His eyebrows shot up, “Husband, huh? Lucky guy.” 

He leans back and winks. Danica holds his eyes for approximately ten seconds before a giggle escapes her lips. **_What are they doing?_**

Irene's words float back to her _"He cares about you. And that makes it harder, I think, whenever you pull away from him."*_ While his moods were open, vibrant, and could rival the velocity of white waters in tumultuous rivers, the Diente himself claimed a mask that could put those of her people to shame. Her smile wavered as she recognized that they really were strangers, lonely and looking for escape from a new establishment. She gulped and reached for the second bottle of wine that they were working on, only to find that they'd finished it twenty minutes ago. 

Her stomach grumbled just then, making them both jump. Three seconds later, his stomach rumbled back in response. They both looked at each other and reached for the baskets full of food. The evening meal took a full hour to consume as they joked back and forth and their topics of conversation flowed as easily as the liquid from the third and final bottle of wine. Danica shared stories of her father, his musical talents, and how he'd always claim that it was his angelic singing voice that won Nacola over. Zane recounted the story of when he and Irene ripped their mother's favorite shawl and spent hours sewing tiny bells on a brand new replacement. When the sun set and the room grew darker, Zane got up and lit the torches along the walls. Full of good food and wine, they figured out the sofa was of the adjustable variety and leaned back into a cocoon of silk pillows and warm blankets.

"Do you want to know a secret?" The words were out of her mouth before she could yank them back. 

His red eyes snapped back to hers, their playful edge slowly turning into curiosity. He leans in close and whispers, "Tell me." 

"I used to sneak out of the Keep at night. My friend Naomi owns a pub and she'd always keep an extra apron in the back for me." she whispers back. "On nights when life got to be too much, I'd slip past the guards, make my way to the pub, don the apron, and help Naomi serve the customers. Rei figured out what I was doing quick enough when he came in for a drink one night after his evening shift and saw the princess that he could've sworn was in her room when he left guard duty. Once he had calmed down, he, Naomi, and I got together and, between the three of us, ran such a tight ship that no one knew about this pastime. Not my mother, not the court, nor anyone who weren't Naomi's regulars. Even Eleanor didn't know. For those nights, I wasn't Princess Danica Shardae, the golden hawk, but Dani the barkeep."

Zane's eyes had widened in shock. "How did you manage to pull that off?!" 

Danica smirked back at him, "No one told on me because I was _very_ good at mixing drinks. If I was found out, not only would my reputation be ruined, but they would have had to suffer through a new trainee for a couple of months. Even then, the drinks wouldn't taste the same because I always added one extra ingredient that catered to an individual's personal preference. Additionally, everyone needs someone to talk to, and while there were many parts of my life that I had no power over, I was able to be there for my people who did not readily have access to me because they were not scholars, recognized artists, nor established courtesans." 

Her husband looked at her, "You never fail to amaze me." 

Danica's cheeks dimpled as she grinned back at him, "I'm only sharing that story because we ran out of wine, and the remaining alcoholic options are avian hard liquor. You'll need a buffer cocktail since the stuff is potent and this is your first time. Tell me what you like and I'll make it for you."

Zane cursed internally when she got up to reach under the table and pull out a hidden drawer filled with bright-colored juices, sliced fruits, and somber liquids contained in crystalline bottles. He was busy bemoaning the absence of her warmth that he almost missed it when she turned back and looked at him expectantly.

"How did yo-" 

"Andreios. I told you, he is _thorough_. This is similar to the setup I had in my room at the Keep." She started unloading the bottles, glasses, spoons and mixing cups. 

"Did he remember to include a barkeep's uniform?" Danica paused for a second to raise an eyebrow at him. "Well, you are wearing white and it would be _a shame_ if any of that stained." Zane blinked innocently at her before giving her a charming grin. Neither of them bothered checking to see if Andreios was still standing guard outside. The idea of leaving a space safe from royal obligations did not even cross their minds. They had the whole day off and they were going to make the most of it. It fell to Rei to shoulder the responsibilities of enforcing a scheme of his own making. 

She ignored him. "Do you have a taste preference?" 

Zane tilted his head. He liked, no scratch that, he **_adored_** this version of his mate. Borderline drunk, full of smiles and surprises, with no avian reserve in sight. "My beautiful hawk," he purred, "make me your favorite drink."


End file.
